Mosaic comprising a plurality of permanently detachable mosaic elements



p 1965 R. DE LA RlVE BOX 3,178,332

MOSAIC COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF PERMANENTLY DETACHABLE MOSAIC ELEMENTS Filed Jan. 23, 1961 INVENTOR. Roz Myer? 01; LA ADM/E l3 ox 1477 774 ejls United States Patent 3,178,332 MOSAIC COMPRISING A PLURALITY 0F PER- MANENTLY DETACHABLE MOSAIC ELEMENTS Robhert de la Rive Box, Norenhurg 27, The Hague, Netherlands Filed Jan. 23, 1961, Ser. No. 84,204 Claims priority, application g ljegtherlands, Jan. 27, 1960, 9 4 Claims. (Cl. 16137) The present invention relates to a mosaic comprising a plurality of removable mosaic elements and a base whose upper side has a depressed portion or upwardly facing spherical surface in which said mosaic elements fit together if laid according to a correct configuration. In known mosaics a perimeter is formed in the base within which the mosaic elements are to be laid, the nondepressed, or raised, perimeterhaving moreover the function of preventing the mosaic elements'laid in the depressed portion of the base from shifting. Such a base, however, cannot do more than prevent the elements from shifting for if the base is jolted and certainly if it is turned upside down the mosaic elements will fall out of the base. I

The object of the invention is to provide a mosaic having a semi-permanent character, which means that a mosaic once it has been laid cannot be disturbed by jolts or other involuntary acts, but practically speaking may only be taken apart intentionally.

To achieve this end, the invention employs a base so formed that the bottom is shaped according to a concave spherical surface. This depressed concave portion is surrounded by an upstanding peripheral margin. The mosaic elements encompassed by the margin and placed in the depressed portion of the base will bear tightly against one another. The mosaic elements are substantially shaped according to a truncated pyramid so that, if said elements are placed with their lower side somewhere on the depressed bottom of the base, the geometrical pyramidal vertex of all elements will coincide with the center of the concave spherical surface.

Preferably the mosaic according to the invention is formed with a base made from a resilient material. It is also possible for the mosaic to have the inside of the upstanding margin provided with a resilient member on the inner perimeter of the peripheral margin.

In order to enable ready disassembly of a completed mosaic, the base may be formed with a relatively small opening in the bottom. A mosaic element located above the opening may be pushed away from the base by inserting a suitable tool through the opening and against the element to be removed.

The means by which the foregoing objects and other advantages, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art, are accomplished as set forth in the following specification and claims, and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings dealing with a basic embodiment and alternate embodiment of the present invention. Reference is made now to the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a mosaic according to the invention, comprising a resilient mosaic bottom and a plurality of mosaic elements placed thereon;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view according to line IIII in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a similar section as the one shown in FIGURE 2, but shows a mosaic base which is substantially made from non-resilient material;

FIGURE 4 shows two mosaic elements on an enlarged scale.

The mosaic according to FIGURES l and 2 comprises a mosaic base generally designated by the reference unice meral 1 and a plurality of mosaic elements 2 to be placed thereon. The mosaic base comprises a bottom portion 3 and an upstanding margin 4. The mosaic base is made from a somewhat resilient material, 'so that the margin P 4 locally may be bent outwardly to some extent. In the center of the bottom portion 3 there is an opening 5 which is large enough topassones finger or other suiting to FIGURE 2 the mosaic elements according to this embodiment have the shape of a diamond in plan view.

It will be clear that all other shapes of mosaic elements may likewise be used, though it stands to reason, of course, that such shapes should cover the entire upper surface 6 of bottom portion 3. The upper surface 6 is, as appears from FIGURE 2, concave "in accordance with a surface of a sphere, the radius of the sphere being large as compared with the height of the mosaic elements 2, for example in a ratio of :1. As also appears from FIGURE 2 the upstanding margin 4 is slightly inwardly inclined in such a manner that the margin, at least as regards to its inner side, is at right angles to the adjacent portion of the upper surface 6 of bottom portion 3. The lower side 7 of bottom portion 3 is entirely flat, so that the base, if placed on a table or hung against a wall etc., is stable.

FIGURE 3 shows a base having the same shape as the base shown in FIGURE 2, but which is made from nonresilient material. Instead thereof a strip 8, extending around the inner circumference of the margin, is mounted against the upstanding margin of the base. The strip 8 is of resilient material, such as e.g. rubber.

FIGURE 4 on an enlarged scale shows two mosaic elements generally designated by 9 and 10 respectively. Said elements 9 and 10 each have in plan view the shap of a diamond.

It stands to reason that all mosaic elements should be capable of being placed anywhere on the mosaic base, and that all mosaic elements bordering on each other should fully and accurately bear against each other with their side faces. In order to achieve this all mosaic elements are designed as truncated pyramids of a special shape.

If the mosaic elements are placed on the mosaic base and the upstanding ribs of the side faces of the pyramidical elements are conceived of as being prolonged, all vertices of the several pyramids will coincide with the center of the radius which formed the spherical surface 6. This, therefore, means that all the side faces of all the mosaic elements wherever they are on the mosaic base will always be at right angles to the spherical surface 6. Adjacent side faces of mosaic elements, therefore, will bear against each other with their entire surface.

The inner wall 11 of the upstanding margin 4 in FIG- URE 2 and the inner wall 12 of the strip 8 of FIGURE 3, respectively, are so dimensioned as to be slightly narrower than the circumference of the joint mosaic elements 2 placed on the spherical surface 6 in the correct configuration. This, therefore, means that the margin 4, or the strip 8 as the case may be, will exert an inwardly directed force on the mosaic elements bordering on the margin.

Owing to the slightly concavely curved position of the mosaic elements, the inwardly directed force exerted by the margin 4 or the strip 8 will have a component which forces said mosaic elements against the spherical surface 6 of the bottom portion 3 of the base. This force is sufiicient to prevent the complete mosaic laid on the base from being disturbed unintentionally.

Patented Apr. 13, 1965' If it is desired to take the mosaic apart this may be effected by passing ones finger or any suitable tool through the opening 5 in the bottom portion 3 of thebase, so that a mosaic element located above said opening will be forced away from the surface 6. When one or more elementshave been removed, the other elements may easily be removed from the base..-

It should be noted that instead of making the mosaic base entirely or partly resilient it is also possible to form the mosaic elements of resilient material, in which case the mosaic base would be of non-resilient material.

I claim:

1. A mosaic assembly comprising abase member having disposed therein a plurality of removable mosaic elements, said base member including a substantially flat outer bottom surface, a concave. spherical-inner surface delimited by slightly inclinedupstanding walls; each of said removable mosaic elements defining a truncated pyramid so that the geometricalpyramidal vertexof allremovable mosaic elements coincides with the geometrical center of said concave spherical inner'surface.

2. A mosaic according to. claim 1, in which the inside of the upstanding Walls is provided with a resilient member extending the whole inner circumference of said walls to exert an inwardly directed force on said removable mosaic elements.

3. A mosaic according to claim 1 in which an opening is disposed in the bottom of the base member, whereby a mosaic element located thereabove may be removed from said base member disassembling said mosaic by applying a force through said .opening against said element.

4. A mosaic assembly according to claim 1 in which said removable mosaic elements are disposed contiguous one to the other, said removable'mosaic elements being disposed in a configuration providing a force bearing relation thereby obviating the necessity for adhesive.

References Cited by the Examiner V UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,852,932 9/58 Cable. 3,107,918 10/63 Edlen.

FOREIGN PATENTS r 437,523 7/48 Italy. 808,198 1/.59 Great Britain.

EARL M. BERGERT, Primary Examiner.

CARL F. KRAFFT, Examiner. 

1. A MOSAIC ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A BASE MEMBER HAVING DISPOSED THEREIN A PLURALITY OF REMOVABLE MOSAIC ELEMENTS, SAID BASE MEMBER INCLUDING A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT OUTER BOTTOM SURFACE, A CONCAVE SPHERICAL INNER SURFACE DELIMITED BY SLIGHTLY INCLINED UPSTANDING WALLS, EACH OF SAID REMOVABLE MOSAIC ELEMENTS DEFINING A TRUNCATED PYRAMID SO THAT THE GEOMETRICAL PYRAMIDAL VERTEX OF ALL REMOVABLE MOSAIC ELEMENTS COINCIDES WITH THE GEOMETRICAL CENTER OF SAID CONCAVE SPHERICAL INNER SURFACE. 